It’s that time of the year again! Vision-Aid and over 60 dancers in the New England community are gearing up for the upcoming mega-show on Sunday August 2^nd, 2020 which is going virtual for the first time this year.

This year’s unique show “Shakthi - The Essence of Empowered Women”, is produced by renowned choreographer Guru Madurai R. Muralidaran, ably assisted by his daughter Kayva Muralidaran and Artistic Directors Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Hema Iyengar, Sujatha Meyyappan, Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy, Marishakthi Muthuswamy and Thenu Raajan, pulling together sixty of the brightest dance talent in the New England area. The Artistic Directors are also supported by dance teachers like Dhanashree Madiwale-Karmakar and senior dance students like Shirin Bakre, Anjanadevi Govindaraj, Chitanya Gopu, Priyanka Joshi, Shilpa Narayanan, Neha Pillai, Adithi Venkatesan, and Ananya Venkatesan. 

Bringing 60 dancers together in a production is no mean feat in itself, but doing it online takes the challenge to a whole new level. Deep inside the “engine rooms” of this massive production, a group of nine young leaders are working very hard, to assist the Artistic Directors and the Producer to weave together this great production which is set to dazzle Boston and global audiences on Sunday August 2^nd.

Sonal Bakre, who serves on the Board of Directors of Vision-Aid, and a dancer herself commended the young leaders for bringing so much effort and passion to the show this year – “It has been truly amazing to see these young ladies bring their passion for dance and their passion for service together to help the Producer and Artistic Directors of the show bring a most remarkable show to life, while serving the visually impaired through Vision-Aid’s programs.

The Young Leaders behind Vision-Aid’s “Shakthi”

Shirin Bakre is a rising senior at Boston University and working towards attaining a degree in Biomedical Engineering. An avid Bharatanatyam dancer, she has been learning under the tutelage of Smt. Ranjani Saigal since the age of 6. The art form helped her connect to her Indian heritage, while also fueling her passion to serve. She performed her dance debut or Arangetram in 2015 in which she asked for donations to her chosen charity. She has been participating in Vision-Aid productions since the age of 12. Initially, she saw it as a great opportunity to meet other young dancers like herself and to challenge and learn more intricate dance pieces. As she continued participating in Vision-Aid productions, she realized how impactful Vision-Aid’s work was, and how she was able to use her dance talent to raise awareness of vision impairment issues facing so many people in India. Through her dance, she knew she could effect change. 

“During this worldwide pandemic, it is crucial for us as a community to come together and create change together. Vision-Aid has been doing very impactful work for many years and I am grateful to join many other dancers to use our talents and hard-work to keep this wonderful work going. This year’s event focuses on ‘Shakti’ and empowering each other constantly to strive for greatness and to appreciate the strength in us all. One of my dances focuses on the strength of mothers and their unconditional love. I hope that this piece can touch the hearts of many and allow people to find an undying strength in them in these times of crisis.”

This opportunity to perform and raise awareness is a great gift and privilege, I hope that as dancers we can all make a mark and bring about change in our own way.

Chitanya Gopu has been participating in Vision-Aid productions since 2009 as a dancer, and this year she joined the production as dancer as well as senior dance mentor. She completed her Arangetram in 2013 under Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy and continues to learn and pursue the artform while serving as an assistant dance teacher at Abhinaya Natya Sala. She currently works at INVENT Environmental Technologies, Inc. in NJ after completing her Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in 2018.

“I started the Vision-Aid productions in high school and continually return to perform. There are so many draws to working on a production like this - a great cause, such dedicated dancers, experienced and ever helpful teachers not to mention the choreography and direction from Madurai R. Muralidaran Sir. It truly is such a joy to partake and showcase my dancing talent with such a vibrant and supportive group. This year, I took on the additional role of mentorship for the junior dancers, and that has added such joy to the experience. It has been such a rewarding journey teaching the youngsters choreography, polishing their movements and technique and seeing their dedication and growth throughout the process. They give me as much as I can give them. The virtual nature of the show this year actually is the only reason I am able to participate, being located in NJ, and I am so grateful for this opportunity as technology makes it feel just like every other year.  Every year, Vision-Aid puts on a spectacular performance, and I can say with confidence this year’s Shakthi will be no different!”

Anjanadevi Govindaraj, a rising senior at Nashua High School North has completed her Bharatanatyam & Mohiniyattam Arangetrams in 2017 through her Guru Smt. Sheetal Dwaraka. After her arangetram, she has been taking advanced lessons from Guru Smt. Jothi Raghavan at the Nrityanjali School of Dance and has been performing in her productions. Anjana has won runner up at the FeTNA nation dance competition in 2018 and 2019, as well as performed in the Chennai Music and Arts Festivals. She is proud to perform in Vision-Aid productions for the fifth year in a row and hopes to continue her passion for dance!

Priyanka Joshi is a rising sophomore at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and is pursuing an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering. She has been learning Bharatanatyam for over 12 years, with the past 5 years of her journey with Smt. Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy. After completing her arangetram in 2019, she is now an assistant teacher at the Abhinaya Natya Sala. She is also a part of the classical and non-classical dance teams at her college and has performed at various events with them. Priyanka first joined the Vision-Aid family in the 2017 production and is so excited to be working for their amazing cause once again. She is grateful to have the opportunity to not only dance but also help the younger dancers learn their pieces this time. Despite the Vision-Aid event being virtual this year, she knows that the show will be spectacular nonetheless.

Dhanashree Karmarkar is a Bharatanatyam Teacher, Dancer, Choreographer, performing for the past 20 years and teaching in the greater Boston area since the past 13 years. She is a full time Lead Montessori Teacher and passionate about Bharatanatyam. She founded Nritya Sadhana Bharatnatyam School of Dance in 2007. www.dancedhanashree.com

Her goal is to preserve and pass the heritage of Bharatnatyam. She has performed for several fund- raising productions, Diversity and Cultural programs organized by the Office of Mayor of Boston, Deepshikha, Kunti - Ek Katha, Meera including Navavidha Bhakti for Vision-Aid in 2011.

Vision-Aid is one of my favorite non-profit organizations. The cause, effort and raised money is going 100 percent to people in need. One Vision and right Aid !

Shilpa Narayanan first participated in Vision-Aid in 2012 and has since transitioned from a dancer to senior dance mentor. She completed her arangetram in 2013 and continues to learn from Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan. In addition to dancing Bharatanatyam and being an assistant teacher at Kolam Dance Academy, Shilpa also works in anesthesia clinical research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

“I first participated in a Vision-Aid production back in 2012 and can only say how grateful and humbled I am by where the journey with the productions has taken me. Transitioning from being a dancer to a senior dance mentor has allowed me to explore new avenues of this art form. I think that the motivation and powerful energy that the dancers have brought to our sessions inherently represents Shakti, as it is in all of us, no matter what stage in life we are at. Working with them daily also taught me a thing or to, and that is the type of relationship I really enjoy having with dancers. This year we still get to come together in a virtual manner, an added challenge that I feel will make the payoff of our hard work even more rewarding for all the dancers. I chose to accept the role of senior dance mentor as I felt it would help me grow as both a dancer and a person, and I would like to think that with the time I have spent with the fellow dancers, teachers, and Guru Madurai R. Muralidaran Sir, that I am slowly but surely accomplishing that. I hope to continue doing this as a dancer, and thank my guru, Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan and Vision-Aid for opportunities such as this.”

Neha Pillai is a recent graduate from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in Statistics and Actuarial Science. She has been learning Bharatanatyam from Guru Jeyanthi Ghatraju and did her Arangetram in 2012. She also completed a certificate program in Bharatanatyam from Alagappa Performing Arts Academy. She first became involved with the Vision-Aid family in 2010, and each experience has been extremely fulfilling. She loves being able to support such a generous charity while following her passion. Each year hearing how Vision-Aid has been expanding their rehabilitation network is inspiring and she feels that it is  amazing to even be a small part of the change and progress Vision-Aid is bringing to the visually impaired community globally. She loves working with the junior kids to help them learn and perfect their dances and is excited to be a part of and help with more future productions.

Adhithi Venkatesan is a rising senior at Nashua High School South. She has been learning Bharatanatyam for the past 9 years from Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan. Adhithi is also an assistant teacher at Kolam Academy of Dance. She participated in the Dhimahi event conducted by Madurai R. Muralidharan in Chennai, India, along with her sister in 2018. Along with Bharatanatyam, she has been teaching Bollywood dance for the past 4 years. This is her fifth year participating in a Vision-Aid production and she hopes to participate in many more in the future. After four years of dancing in the production, she is excited to be helping out the junior kids with their dances. Even though it is a challenge with everything virtual, she very much enjoys helping out and can’t wait to help out more for future productions!

Ananya Venkatesan is a rising junior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, pursuing her studies in Data Science and Business. She completed her Arangetram in the summer of 2017 and has continued her passion under the tutelage of Guru Smt. Sujatha Meyyappan. She is also one of the assistant teachers of the Kolam Academy of Dance. She has danced all over the New England Area, winning many titles in competitions and performing at temples. In November of 2018, Ananya was able to complete a margam in the Kanda Matyam Talam with her sister Adhithi at the Dhimahi Festival in Chennai under the guidance of Madurai R. Muralidaran. Ananya has been participating in Vision-Aid productions for the past 7 years and absolutely loves it. She hopes to continue her passion for dance into the future and constantly learn more about the art form!

Ms. Veena Handa, Event Committee

The Vision-Aid team is hard at work at many levels, and Ms. Veena Handa, Advisory Board member of Vision-Aid, and an active member in the 2020 event committee summed it up for the team:  "We are most grateful to the dance community of the New England area and to the producers and directors of the Vision-Aid show for their tireless efforts which make this amazing event possible."

For more information about the show, to buy tickets, donate or sponsor the event, or to view the current sponsors , please visit www.VisionAid.org.

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